News

‘Down in one’ drinks curbed

DRINKS firms will no longer be able to market products as "slammers" or "shooters" from midnight on New Year's Eve under a new code of conduct designed to curb high-speed "down in one" drinking.

The code, drawn up by the Portman Group, which represents drinks makers, also bans the use of alcohol logos on children's replica sports kit, but its main target is fast drinking. Even ads that show a drinker's head tipped back too far as they put the glass to their lips will be covered.

The change comes as the government plans a £10m advertising campaign designed to "shock" young people into cutting back on drinking by showing them in humiliating poses after getting drunk.

"The pictures we have got so far show what they will look like at the end of a night on the tiles," said a health department source. The television campaign is expected to